Page Five

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

Friday, March 5, 1948

Bnai Brith Explains Its Stand on Assembly
•. •

that this new organization can-
not take the place of their
functions and do the things
that they are doing and to re-
duce them to a position of com-
plete futility, or to take con-
trol and jurisdiction over their
operations, in the interest of
the principle of a democratical-
ly representative body, they
ALL THESE actions were tak-
are likely to come in. You will
Dear Editor:
never be able to persuade
en before Bnai Brith made its
The Bnai Brith decision not decision.
them to come in otherwise.
• "If we don't get them in, or
to affiliate with the proposed
The organizations that took
if certain organizations, that I
American Jewish Assembly was them are among the outstand-
could name, but I won't name
made unanimously by a special ing and most respected in the
them, that are now in the Con-
committee of 63 men and women country. Without doubt, they
ference, that will refuse to
from all parts of the country.
had reasons which seemed good
come in unless the document
That special commitee, which and valid to them, whethar we
remains as it is and I am not
had f , d1 power to -act, had been agree or disagree with those
speaking now of Bnai Brith; I
reatod by the Supreme Lodge reasons, for refusing to join the
am speaking of five or six other
onvention of last year. Its de- Assembly, or for imposing con-
organizations that I could name
cision having aroused so much ditions which amounted to the
that will have the greatest re-
intercst, it is deemed helpful to same thing, or for postponing
luctance to come in unless they
size
the
reasons
underly-
-
action.
emph
come in with these restrictions
ing tiro resolution passed by the
It is not for us to assess their
for the present and at the be-
comir itee.
reasons here. The fact remains
ginning—and IF THEY DON'T
That resolution plainly stated that major Jewish organizations
COME IN, THEN YOU HAVE-
Samuel W. Leib, left, second vice-president of Bnai Brith
N'T UNITY IN AMERICAN
that ":.owever much we favor refused to join the Assembly.
District Grand Lodge No. 6, presents applications for 5,000
new members to Frank Goldman, national president, as part
JEWISH LIFE; then you have
the Plan . . . substantial unity
What kind of unity, then, was
an American Jewish Confer-
is un :ehievable" under it be- possible? Only a shell, a pre-
of the district's quota of 10,000 new members.
ence that won't have the vi-
cause it had already been re- tense of unity. ,Real unity was
tality, the vigor, the strength
jected by major national Jew- clearly out of the question, on
as a temporary body, for the ish public is entitled to know that this Conference has had,
ish organizations" and accepted the basis of the Eisendrath purpose of meeting the unparal- the exact basis for our decision.
and the agencies that remain
by others with qualifications Plan.
• • •
leled emergency abroad during
out of the Conterence will
tantamount to rejection.
and immediately after the war.
build up their vigor and vi-
WE
REGRET
THAT
after
Bnai
•
The Assembly, on the other Brith announced it would not tality and attain in the course
NATURALLY, THERE was hand, was proposed as a perma-
of time a parity with the Con-
TILE RESOLUTION further profound disappointment at this nent organization to deal with join the Assembly, the spirit of
ference."
pledged that Bnai Brith, in ac- lack of adherence. But there is the entire gamut of Jewish life the late Henry Monsky was in-
• • •
cordance with its century-old more to it than that. It is high in the United States as well as voked, in some instances by
IN
THAT
STATEMENT, Mr
those who caused him so much
policy of fostering Jewish unity, time that American Jews know abroad.
Monsky was pleading with the
intense
grief
during
the
build-
would continue its search "for the truth.
Bnai Brith did not withdraw ing and continuance of the Con- Interim Committee to accept a
agreement in a consultative body
In the more than two months from the Conference. But it
plan for future organization that
ference.
that will provide the outlet for following the' final session of the
will not enter the proposed new
It was even charged that would not let up anything even
common action in the interest of American Jewish Conference, in Assembly because it is now cer-
Bnai Brith's abstention from faintly resembling a Rehillah,
This, in effect, what Bnai Chicago, only a very small mi- tain that such an Assembly will joining the proposed Assembly or a dictatorship, or that would
Brith said was that from a re- nority of the organizations be only another organization,
was a repudiation of Mr. Mon- invade the autonomy of con-
alistic point of view, the action which are members of the pres- another letterhead, and will not sky's lifework. Such assertions stituent organizations.
of several other organizations, ent Conference voted to join be the over-all unifying agency could be made only by those
He was arguing for a basis
made it, beyond all doubt, ut- the proposed permanent As- it set out to be, and which it who do not know, or who dis- calculated to win general adher-
terly impossible to accomplish sembly!
ence of all major organizations
was hoped it might be.
regard the facts.
in Jewish life. His statement,
the purposes for which the As-
This was not surprising, how-
It certainly was not the inten-
•
•
•
quoted above, makes this clear.
sembly was to be created, and ever, since the plan itself, while
tion to create "just another" or-
It is inescapable that without
that Bnai Brith was resolved to zealously promoted, did not win
IT
IS
NEEDLESS
for
Bnai
ganization, which would be only
somE of these groups, there is
find a vehicle that would make the enthusiasm of any signi-
Brith
in
such
a
discussion
as
one of several voices purporting
no unity, and any agency that
it possible, under favorable cir- ficant proportion of American
this,
to
reassert
its
undying
af-
to speak for American fewry in
cumstances and at the proper
fection and unexcelled admira- styled itself as a unifying organi-
covered
by
the
matters
of
import
time, to accomplish those pur-' Jews in the communities
tion for Henry Monsky and all zation in the face of that fact
throughout the country.
the plan itself.
poses.
of his works, including his pro- would be a farce, a snare, and
• • •
• • •
jection of and leadership in the a delusion.
ft • •
But alas for Henry Monsky's
Conftrence during the crucial
THIS WAS LATER admitted
fond hopes. EVENTS HAVE
IT IS TRUE that important or- era during which he lived.
THE ENTIRE so-called Bnai
by no less an authority than Mr. ganizations remained outside of
SHOWN THAT EVEN THE
Brith bloc at the Chicago session I. L. Kenen, executive secre-
Now let us look at the record. EISENDRATII PLAN — WITH-
the Conference itself after its
of the American Jewish Con- tary of the American Jewish
Mr.
Monsky
died
on
May
2,
OUT THE SO-CALLED
first session. But Bnai Brith not
ference, almost without excep- Conference. He reported to the only initiated the Conference, 1947. He was stricken while pre- "TEETH" DEMANDED BY SOME
tion, favored the Eisendrath Interim Committee on Feb. 12,
siding
at
a
meeting
of
the
Amer-
GROUPS — HAS FAILED TO
but remained in it.
Plan for an American Jewish
The nature of the emergency ican Jewish Conference Interim WIN THE ADHERENCE OF
1948:
Assembly, and voted for it. It
"1 have had something to do which witnessed the slaughter of Committee. During the last MAJOR BODIES.
was generally hoped that a uni- with contacts with the commu- six million of our people during speech of his life, made on that
We who knew Henry Monsky
fied voice for American Jewry nity and with national organiza- the most ghastly warin-ell his- day and at that meeting, which best know that he never would
was in the making, in spite of tions in the last two or three tory made even a partial unity was not without pangs for him, have consented to furthering
some clouds on the horizon.
months, and I know that there better than none at all in the he alluded to the proposed or- and keeping alive such a purely
ganization taking under its wing
But what was the total pic- was a very sorry indifference to execution of whatever we could
"the entire gamut of Jewish life." self-styled—and not at all real
ture faced by the Bnai Brith spe-the whole matter of the Amer
do daring such unprecedented Here is a verbatim report of the —unity as will be the case if
can
Jewish
Assembly
through-
I
the Assembly is formed with
cial committee when it met?
conditions. The Conference is a
! out the country, largely as a re- temporary agency, limited in most important portion of his only some of the major organi-
The American Jewish Corn- suit of the lack of enthusiasm
statement:
time to the duration of the emer-
zations included. It would mili-
mittee had rejected the plan: behind the program in New
gency, and in scope to overseas
tate against the achievement of
out of hand. I York. . . . I think many of the
"WE HAVE to take this into genuine unity — and actually
The Council of Jewish Wel- leaderships of the national or- problems.
But the proposed Assembly consideration: it is not only freeze present divisions!
fare Funds and Federations had ganizations outside of Bnai Brith
Bnai Brith does not believe in
objected to the Assembly on the were guilty certainly of indif- would be a permanent organiza- the American Jewish Commit-
basis of duplication of work of ference to the whole plan and as tion, with a virtually unlimited tee, it is not only the Jewish trying to advance a cause whose
a result it was impossible to mo- scope. For that, concrete unity Labor Committee, and other futility is painfully obvious.
agencies not yet in the Con- That is why we express the
bilize any large public sentiment is the sine qua non.
e 'l e X is v i t . in; agencies.
We were, are, and ever will be ference; it is the ?DC, it is the hope that genuine unity of all
in the country in favor of it."
agencies may yet be found in
for such unity. But it was des- UM.
• • •
"I mean: we are trying to some other form, perhaps in a
tined not to be—not yet, at least.
THE JEWISH Labor Com-
take under the wings of this consultative body. . . .
IT IS IMPORTANT TO re- and not in the form proposed.
mittee, without reference to the
Conference the entire gamut of
• • •
Others
determined
that—not
plan, through its president had emphasize that Bnai Brith has
Jewish life. Is that correct?
THE RECENT MEETINGS of
Bnai
Brith.
We
merely
recogniz-
laid down conditions that a cer- been and is loyal co the Ameri-
ed a fact. If there be some who Relief, philanthropy, the Coun-
and the American Jewish Conference
tain constituent of the proposed can Jewish Conference. It must
(representing its members in-
refuse to face facts, we cannot cil of Welfare Funds
be
remembered
that
the
Con-
Assembly be 'excluded before it
cluding Bnai Brith), the Jewish
be responsible for their actions. Federations.
ference is not the Assembly.
"As long as they are assured Agency, the American Jewish
would join.
The Conference was created But we feel the • American Jew-
The Jewish War Veterans had
Committee, Agudas Israel, and
also laid down conditions, in-
other organizations, which led to
cluding one that all major or-
common agreement and joint ac-
ganizations had tg accept the
tion in the most controversial
plan before it would come in.
area of Jewish life in our time—
Community
Service,
Athletics
Religion, Culture, Guidance, Leadership ,
Jewish Palestine — demonstrated
Other groups. such as the
what can be dune with persua-
Union of American Hebrew
• sion—not compulsion--brings to-
Congregations and the Ameri-
gether men and organizations for
can Jewish Congress, had post-
a meeting of minds. These di-
poned their decisions for many
verse groups unanimously sup-
months. And at the Chicago ses-
ported the UNSCOP majority
sion of the Conference, the
recommendation for the partition
president of the American Jew-
of Palestine.
ish Congress had made a public
This is the pattern which we
announcement that his organiza-
believe is indicated at the pres-
tion would vote on the plan at
ent time.
its convention in Philadelphia
FRANK GOLDMAN,
on Jan. 9 -- later postponed —
President. Bnai Brith
and that he could not predict
what the vote would be.

Plan Fails to Bring Unity,
President Frank Goldman
Points Out in Statement

—

fk

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B'NAI B'RITH WIDER SCOPE PROGRAM IN 'ACTION